The responses have flooded in for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins after he made his Euro 2024 debut against Denmark on Thursday night.
Ollie Watkins fired Aston Villa to Champions League qualification with an eye-watering 32-goal contributions in the Premier League.
The 28-year-old is now on international duty with England at Euro 2024, where Watkins hopes to help the Three Lions win their first piece of silverware since the 1966 World Cup.
In England’s first match against Serbia – a 1-0 victory – Watkins was an unused substitute, but in the game against Denmark, Southgate brought the Aston Villa star from the bench in the second half.
This came after Micah Richards and Rio Ferdinand called for him to be introduced after watching Harry Kane struggle to bring energy into the final third.
Watkins replaced Kane in the 69th minute, and the match’s complexion instantly changed as England chased a late winner. Although they were unable to find one, the Villa goal machine was a constant threat in behind and perhaps deserves a starting chance in the final group game.
Morgan Rogers and Curtis Jones react to Ollie Watkins Instagram post
Ten years after making his debut at Exeter in 2014, Watkins played his first minutes of an international tournament, coming off the bench at Euro 2024.
For a player who has had to work so hard to get into this position, it would have been an immensely proud moment for the forward and his family.
Reacting to making his debut for the Three Lions at an international tournament via Instagram, Watkins wrote:
The responses flooded in for the Villa striker as fellow teammate Morgan Rogers replied: “What a player”, while Liverpool star Curtis Jones – who missed out on the final 26-man squad – said: “💪”.
Jamie Reid, a former teammate of Watkins at Exeter, also responded: “Proud as brother 🤝🏾 some journey ❤️.”
Gareth Southgate must Ollie Watkins more often
Watkins unsurprisingly impressed off the bench against Denmark, and Gareth Southgate must use the Villa man more often.
Kane is always going to be the centrepiece of the attack but the Bayern Munich striker didn’t offer the same energy or defence-splitting runs that Watkins can provide.
Instead, he was dropping deeper in an attempt to make things happen when he should be pinning himself up against defenders and getting in dangerous positions to score.
Watkins was a constant threat in behind against the Danes and he even had an attempt saved by Kasper Schmeichel, begging the question of whether he’d have scored or assisted if he was introduced earlier.
The Villa star can play a prominent role at Euro 2024, just as long as he’s not made to sit on the bench and watch Kane play most of the tournament.
The post Morgan Rogers and Liverpool star react as Aston Villa gem Ollie Watkins makes Euro 2024 debut appeared first on Aston Villa News.